Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for the color coding of at least one optical fiber which is arranged together with at least one other optical fiber in the core of a cable in general or a communications cable in particular.
Communication cables with optical fibers--referred to hereinafter as "optical fiber cables"--are cables which consist of a plurality of optical fibers of glass or plastic. The optical fibers are arranged in the core of such an optical fiber cable which is surrounded by an external protective jacket. Optical fibers are used, for example, in communications engineering as a substitute for the metal wires previously customary. As compared with metal wires, optical fibers have a number of advantages. They have a great frequency range (band width) and a low attenuation so that more transmission channels can be transmitted with increased distance between amplifiers or repeaters over an optical fiber than over a copper wire. They can readily be bent and have a very small diameter so that the cross section of the cable can be reduced. Furthermore, they are not influenced by external electric or magnetic fields.
In the same way as the traditional cores of communication cables provided with metallic wires, optical fibers must be coded so that simple, dependable identification of the individual optical fibers is possible for splicing. This requirement must, in particular, be satisfied when a large number of optical fibers are arranged in the core of a cable.
The object of the present invention is to provide a method by which at least one optical fiber can be so coded in a single operation that it can be readily identified among a large number of optical fibers.